San Francisco's long road to closing John F. Kennedy Drive to cars near Golden Gate Park is nearing its end, as Mayor London Breed introduced legislation on Tuesday to make permanent what was initially a COVID-19 pandemic precaution.
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Breed said in a release on Tuesday that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors could vote on the legislation, which would permanently make 1.5 miles of JFK Drive car-free, as soon as April.
Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Matt Haney and Dean Preston co-sponsored the legislation, which the mayor introduced five days after the Municipal Transportation Agency and Recreation and Park Department recommended closing the street to vehicles.
"The answers we've received from the thousands of people who engaged in our outreach process made it clear that there is broad support for this section of JFK Drive remaining closed to vehicle traffic permanently," Breed said in a statement. "I'm excited to embrace this new chapter of Golden Gate Park and look forward to our continued work to improve access for seniors, people with disabilities, and those who don’t live nearby."
JFK Drive first closed to cars nearly two years ago, in April 2020, in a city effort to encourage socially distant recreation during the early days of the pandemic.
Demonstrators favoring and opposing the change held rallies outside San Francisco City Hall earlier this month. Some pedestrian advocacy groups like Walk San Francisco, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Kid Safe SF have backed closing Golden Gate Drive to cars, while some disability rights advocates and officials from the de Young Museum have spoken out against the potential permanent closure.
Breed touted improved access to a free shuttle program, additional disabled parking spaces and plans to prioritize outreach to communities of color among the plan's recommendations based on "equity, accessibility and mobility." She first expressed support for closing JFK Drive in a tweet eight days ago.
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